Misato Katsuragi
Misato Katsuragi (桂木美里, Katsuragi Misato) is one of the main characters of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion as well as its manga adaptation and Rebuild of Evangelion. She is the operations director at NERV. At the beginning of the series, Misato first brings Shinji Ikari to NERV and is able to convince him to pilot the EVA Unit-01. She then chooses to have Shinji move in with her rather than live alone, and later takes in Asuka Langley Soryu. As the series progresses, through her former lover Ryoji Kaji, she learns the truth behind the Human Instrumentality Project and the depths of deception that NERV and SEELE have gone to keep the Project secret, even from her. Though her role as supporting protagonist remains consistent within the original series and its various spin-offs, in the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Misato's character alignment becomes more morally ambiguous during the events of Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, as she becomes more openly antagonistic toward Shinji: Around this point, it cam be argued that she now acted as one of main antagonists of the movie (a role which she shared with Gendo Ikari and SEELE). The third film of the Rebuild of Evangelion series itself is purposely written this way, to make its audience think about morality as much as Shinji himself. She is voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi in the original Japanese version and Alison Keith in the English dub. Personality ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' While on the job, Misato is very professional and capable, in stark contrast to her life at home. Until Shinji's arrival, her living space was a complete mess. She cannot cook for herself and relies solely on instant food (she is often considered gross by Shinji and Ritsuko for combining food like ramen and curry). She also drinks copious quantities of beer, and drinks one first thing in the morning to get her day started (later in the series, she apparently switches to canned coffee as a supplement). She also smokes, though only occasionally and only during chaotic events. For most of the series, Misato has no apparent issues with displaying and emphasizing her femininity, and enjoys the attention this gains her. She enclosed a picture of herself in the NERV materials sent to Shinji when he was summoned to Tokyo-3. In the picture, she is wearing a skimpy outfit with an arrow pointing to her breasts and a caption which is translated in English as "Pay attention" in the Platinum Edition subtitles and "note the cleavage" in the manga. In volume 2 of the manga, Shinji returns home from school to find the apartment unlocked and Misato in the shower; he thinks to himself, "That's not safe... anyone could walk in!" Shinji's friends, Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzuhara, develop crushes on Misato, attention she appears to enjoy. Misato's subordinate, First Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga, also falls in love with her (though as opposed to Toji and Kensuke, his feelings are sincere, as shown in The End of Evangelion). He often risks his life and job by providing sensitive information to Misato, and agrees to set NERV HQ to self-destruct when Tabris attacks. Series director Hideaki Anno described Misato as "...a woman, twenty-nine, who lives life so lightly as to barely allow the possibility of human touch. She protects herself by keeping relationships on the surface, and by running away." The disparity between her professionalism on the job and her slovenliness at home, as well as her issues in her relationships with her father and Kaji and the ambiguous nature of her relationship with Shinji, ties into her psychological issues. While grateful to her father for saving her life, she also admits to hating him, as he devoted his life to his work and neglected her and her mother. Her reason for joining NERV (and later, her drive to fight the Angels) is related to her issues with her father. Kaji implies in one discussion that Misato suffers from nightmares about her past, as he describes her as "sleeping uncomfortably." Also, Misato admits "seeking her father in Kaji's embrace." ''Rebuild of Evangelion'' Misato's personality in the Rebuild universe is initially similar to that of her original timeline counterpart, but by Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, she exhibits a personality similar to Gendo Ikari's as she is more unsympathetic and cynical. She acts incredibly antagonistic towards Shinji after she has him reawakened, even ordering a collar bomb to be fitted on him as a sign that she does not trust him. Misato's displayed behavior at this point implies that she has a terrible grudge against Shinji for (unintentionally) causing Third Impact. However, she seems to fail/outright refuse to acknowledge that she herself bares a good amount of blame due to her egging Shinji on as he tried to save Rei Ayanami, and appears to be using him as a scapegoat to avoid her own responsibility. Despite her misguided disdain towards Shinji, Misato seemingly still has some of her old feelings towards him as she hesitates to activate Shinji's collar bomb when the Evangelion Mark.09 takes Shinji to NERV Headquarters. The reason for Misato's stark change in character was because she, along with most of NERV's other staff, had learned that Gendo's ambitions were never to prevent Third Impact, but rather to cause it instead, and this drove Misato and the others to rebel against him. Gathering the rest of the survivors of humanity, they formed the WILLE organization, with her and Dr. Ritsuko Akagi as its leaders that dedicated exclusively to destroy NERV and SEELE to prevent future Impacts and ensure the future of the dying human race. Although Misato's motives and goals are well-intentioned, the 14 years of constant war and struggle have hardened and deteriorated Misato's better qualities as a person that, compared to Gendo, who shows a shocking lack of indifference towards the suffering of others, Misato is incredibly bitter and blinded by her hatred of NERV and the Ikari family. Even with small traces of her original personality showing through, it is clear the Misato that Shinji once knew is no more, replaced by a cynical and antagonistic woman who appears to be descending into outright villainy. Biography Trivia *Misato's design was based on the "adult version" of Usagi Tsukino, the protagonist of Sailor Moon. *Elements of Misato's character such as her appearance and relationship with a troubled 14-year old boy were inspirations for the anti-heroine Minene Uryuu from Future Diary. Category:Female Category:Anime Heroes Category:Manga Heroes Category:Military Category:Doujin Soft Heroes Category:Neutral Good Category:Strategists Category:Tragic Category:Nurturer Category:Good Vs. Good Category:Anti Hero Category:Leaders Category:Parents Category:Revived Category:Fallen Category:Status dependent on Version Category:Non-Action Category:In Love Category:Optimists Category:Outright